Tag Archives: history

The Final Full

Wrapping up our final full week was so strange to do. How could it be that we’d be leaving so soon already? Even though the trip was drawing to a close, we still managed to pack the week full of activities and sightseeing.

Getting in Touch with Our Nature-y Sides

That Tuesday, we did something that we’d all put on our Ronda bucketlists–go under the bridge. The distance between the top of the bridge and the bottom of the gorge is about 120 meters, or 390 feet. The hike down itself was no more than a steep walk, but we picked up a few friends on the way. One of them was a Ronda native named Antonio who shared his own study abroad experience with us to a place not far away from Penn State: Lancaster, PA. Small world, right?

The underbelly of the bridge was much different than I had expected. While I had been told that it was a gorge, I didn’t realize how big it actually was.

Spanish terrain as a whole is pretty arid and rocky, but in parts like this it’s a bit greener, too. I really liked seeing the land as it was, undisturbed and without having been built on even though it was only a few hundred feet upwards.

Delving Deeper

The next day was filled with more nature-esque things. The first was a visit to a cave called La Pileta.. This cave was home to over 18,000 murciélagos, or bats. On the walls were paintings over 30,000 years old. Some were even older! They depicted animals such as horses, bulls, and fish. So as not to disturb the bats or damage the cave drawings, we weren’t permitted to take photos in these innermost parts of the cave, but we did manage to snag one in the entrance with our lanterns that we used as guides throughout the tour.

Following La Pileta, we went off to yet another cave: La Cueva del Gato, or The Cave of the Cat. It gets its name for its catlike stone structure.

Contrary to its appearance, this place is not what meets the eye. The pond is deeper than it seems. The cliffs are higher. And the water is very, VERY cold. Though the day itself was about 85 degrees, the water was shaded by foliage and settled in at what felt like a Penn State winter itself. ¡Qué frío!

….we went in anyway.

And we froze.

And I would 100% do it again.

I’m talking the kind of cold where your entire body feels numb and makes it hard to breathe once it gets past your rib cage, the kind of cold where your skin comes out in a carefully calculated combination of red and purple with goosebumps out the wazoo depending on the time spent inside. But we did it under this rationale: How many times are you really ever in Spain?

More Nature, Plus History

Think about the architecture that one can see today. Think about the details. Think about the color. More importantly, think about the technology used to create it. Now picture something equally as unique, but tenfold the detailing and started construction in 889. This is known as none other than La Alhambra, a fortress and palace located in Granada.

This is a plant that Granada is known for, subsequently named La Granada. Though it may seem foreign, the US sees them quite frequently: pomegranates.

I like to compare La Alhambra to an architect’s dream. I have never been so in awe of any building as much as I was of this one. From the moment we walked in, our entire group was floored. For something to be so old and yet so intricate was incredible.

Of the many spots we visited inside, one was called El Patio de Leones, or The Patio of the Lions. It’s known for its water structure in the center, encircled by lions and also by its patterned arches.

But my favorite part of all was a section called El Generalife, which is La Alhambra’s gardens. They’re not comparable to anything I’ve seen in the past, but I like to describe them with 3 B’s: big, beautiful, and breathtaking. Words don’t do it justice.

Without a doubt, La Alhambra has been the best part thus far. Nothing can compare to the detail, the beauty, and the magnificence found in one place.

The City Itself

And then came Granada. We were told that next on the Agenda was seeing Ferdinand and Isabella’s graves. Crazy, right? But in the meantime, we had a few hours to explore the city on our own.

I set off by myself. I still had some gifts to buy. But more importantly, I had yet to venture anywhere in Spain alone. I wanted to see it for myself. I didn’t go far–just to a few shops in an open market and then off to a main street–but it was refreshing to take everything in in the way I saw it. I’ve found that opinions of things are best made when uninfluenced by the words or actions of those around you. I bought some boomerangs and wallets, talked to some shopkeepers, and saw a parrot casually sitting atop someone’s shoulder. I gave some spare change to the happiest homeless man I’d ever seen. He was singing a song and dancing with the cup, throwing ‘ayudame’ into the verse, which means help me. After a while, it was time to head back. But having wandered by myself was a nice refresher.

The graves themselves were underneath the main floor building, but not quite like a basement. There was a small set of stairs that led down to a room covered by a glass window immediately followed by stairs back to the top. The statuesque replicas were above in the main floor of the church. Standing next to two of the most powerful people in the history of the world makes you feel really, really small.

And with that, our venture to Granada drew to a close–but not before grabbing a quick group photo by the fountain in one of the city’s squares!

Students, Professors, and a PSU student residing in Granada for work purposes

Location: Granada

Round 2

The day that followed Sevilla was a combination of deberes (homework) and siestas (naps). It also happened to be Election Day, which I found to be odd since ours is usually a Tuesday. In any case, we’d seen the current mayor at school the week prior, but she was the only one out of all 10+ candidates that I knew. Our host mom said that they’d know who won around 8 pm. Coincidentally, we decided to go to dinner around that time and when we got to the plaza it was filled to the brim with people and music and a huge procession. At first we thought that they were celebrating the reelection of Mary Paz (the name of the mayor) but later we found out that it was just another festival. That’s the thing about Ronda. There are so many festivals and so many parades that it’s not weird at all for the people who live there whereas for us it’s considered a big event. Kind of like Penn State’s Homecoming parade. There aren’t many things of the sort but when they happen, people make sure to attend.

Children dressed up for the festival

A group of people carry a parade piece. Notice the feet down below

Monday and Wednesday of that week we went to dance classes for sevillana, the typical dance style in Andalucia. They took place in the school that we were supposed to have class in which is way across town, but it was still cool to see. The classes were so funny considering that none of us are particularly skilled in the dance department, but we enjoyed it all the same. There are four types of sevillana, and we touched on all of them but primarily the first two. The third and fourth are more difficult, but easier I imagine for those who already know the others. We were also shown some bachata and salsa for a bit on Wednesday but it all turned into some Spanish Zumba, a blessing for all of us double left footers.

Afterwards, we didn’t really know what we wanted for dinner so we all got different foods from a supermarket called Mercadona. I got 2 kilos of strawberries for a euro and a half with some tarta de queso (cheesecake) and tiramisu. Healthy, right? 10/10 would recommend everything EXCEPT the tiramisu. Imagine a puddle of unflavored liquor at the bottom of the cup that soaks into the dessert. While the top was good, I can’t say that the bottom half was my cup of tea. Other people bought chorizo, a type of Spanish sausage, while some had straight bags of spinach. Even though it was a makeshift dinner, I’d have to say that it’s one of the best we had.

Posing in clothes from sevillana with tiramisu in hand

Waiting for Madrid

Since one of our activities got canceled that week, we had free days on Thursday and Friday where we caught up on all of our homework and took advantage of siestas. But Saturday was the day. With a 7:30 am bus call, we were off to the country’s renowned capital and couldn’t be more excited.

The trip in itself was 6 hours, but it took us 8 because the bus driver was required to take breaks. His name was Ángel. Complete with our Ho-o-o-ola’s and counting system (everyone gets a number and we count off to make sure that we have the whole group when we’re on excursions), we loved him.

Once we arrived, one thing was clear–Madrid is HUGE. The hotel we stayed at was part of NH Collection and called Paseo del Prado near a fountain by the name of Neptune.

View from the top of the hotel

The beautiful shower with the head mounted on the wall (aka no need to hold it while showering…more on this later)

Fountain of Neptune from the bus window on the way to the hotel

After some naps, we headed out for a walk around the town. We saw some very important landmarks like Kilometro Cero and El Corte Inglès…jokes. It’s not a technical landmark, but it’s so popular in Spain that it might as well be. If you’re not familiar, think about Target and Macy’s combined with designer products, a restaurant, and healthcare. I have never seen a bigger building with only one store. If ever presented with the chance, go. American department stores pale in comparison. We went solely for the view of the skyline, but seeing the store was an experience in itself.

Kilometro Cero, the origin of all roads in Spain

Madrid’s skyline as seen from El Corte Inglés

El Escorial & Segovia

The next day we set off for a place I’d never heard of–El Escorial. It in itself is a smaller village, but we went to see its monastery. Huge is an understatement. We toured the inside and while we weren’t allowed to take pictures, the place in itself was pretty memorable if for nothing other than its size. We saw rooms where the King and Queen slept and learned that it was normal for the public to enter and watch them in their daily lives. Weird, right? I think I’d freak out if I woke up to someone staring at me everyday. Later on we saw tombs of all of the kings and queens and ran into some grumpy monks. Apparently they aren’t fans of tourists or being spoken to at all. This surprised me considering that they’re surrounded by both things fairly often and weren’t said to be silent monks. Odd.

My friend Shannon and I at the monastery

Once we finished at the monastery, we headed over to Segovia. Huge seemed to be a common theme that day because as soon as we arrived we saw the roman aqueducts. (Picture)
As the name implies, they are roman structure created to transport water across the city. After looking at them for a while and taking tons of pictures, we moved on to Segovia’s castle. We learned that it was the basis for Cinderella’s castle in Disney World. Small world, right? (Or in Spanish, el mundo es un pañuelo, which implies the same idea but actually translates to ‘the world is a tissue’. Speaking of Disney, I wonder what the Small World ride would sound like translated. “The world’s a tissue after all, the wooooorld’s a tissue aaafter all……”)

Aqueducts of Segovia

Segovian castle

Princesses outside of their castle

One of the many intricate castle ceilings

My knight in shining armor

Princess’s bedroom

152 steps later, we arrived at the top of the castle’s tower

The next day we spent entirely in Madrid. Susana’s husband, Miguel, took us on a walk through a different part of the city.

…this is the post office

La Puerta

We found ourselves at Buen Retiro Park. There we saw the most Pennsylvania-esque creatures of the trip: turtles, ducks, and very large lake fish. Beyond that was El Palacio de Cristal, which is what it sounds like. While it has some actual structure, it’s mainly composed of glass. Inside was an art exposition, one of the many that have the opportunity to be displayed there. They change about every two weeks, but I can’t imagine one being prettier than the one we saw.

Next on the agenda was La Reina Sofia museum. On the walk there we passed a few outdoor gyms with machines built into the ground and the whole nine yards. Who knew?

Once we got to La Reina, we meandered for a while until we found ourselves in front of Picasso’s Guernica. Unfortunately, this was another place where pictures were prohibited, but maybe that was for the best–pictures couldn’t have done it justice. Sometimes things just hit you straight in the face with no warnings. This was one of them. And sure, I’d read about it before and I knew that it was about a bomb on a certain village during the Spanish Civil War, but it was one of those things where you just don’t get it completely until you see it for yourself. Absolutely incredible. We must’ve stood there staring at it for twenty minutes or more without saying a word before we talked about it, but it was one of those things that you don’t get tired of looking at. Like Niagra Falls, for example. Every time you look you find something new to see even though the idea remains the same.

Following La Reina Sofia we headed to our next museum for the day, Paseo del Prado. This held Las Meninas by Velazquez, a painting I’d never seen before nor heard of but later learned that it was also incredibly famous. One of our professors, Dr. Blue, knows so much about Spanish art that it’s unbelievable. He pointed out that Velazquez puts himself in the painting, something that tends to be very uncommon and yet still executed perfectly by this gent. His use of lighting within the piece calls one’s attention to certain aspects of the painting while leaving some other subtler parts as they were originally, allowing the viewer to find them on his or her own.

We next went on our second stroll through the town where we saw the oldest plaza in Spain, Miguel Cervantes house, and a handful of other impressive places.

Miguel Cervantes’s house

La Plaza de la Villa, the oldest plaza in Spain

El Palacio Real, where the royal family resides

Following our walk, we hopped onto Madrid’s subway to go eat dinner in at a rooftop cafe. I ate beef ternera, which is essentially raw beef with spices and such. With the sunset in the background, it was the perfect wrap up for our last night in the city.

As glad as I was to collapse onto my bed afterwards and recuperate from hours and hours in museums that day, I knew that I’d learned an insurmountable amount about some of the most important pieces of their respective eras. That’s one thing I’ve learned about Spain–there is no end to the stories of the country’s history and the people who influenced it, both positively and negatively.

Toledo

On the fourth and final day we headed over to Toledo. The city in itself is unique in comparison to any other, being that it’s made mostly of Spanish brick (I think that’s an appropriate name to call it considering that I have yet to see it elsewhere). The streets were decorated with flowers, flags, and garland for a festival called Corpus Christi that would be happening the next day. While there, we went to see a painting called El Greco and learned about its meaning and the progression of the painting itself (no picture possibilities once again, sadly) On our way out, one of the students in our group ran into her teacher from a few years past without either of them knowing that the other would be there. Small world, huh?

Decorations for Corpus Christi

Following El Greco, we went to the oldest synagogue in Spain. It was cool to have a change of pace and see a different sort of building since we’d been primarily visiting churches throughout the trip.

Arches within the synagogue

Post synagogue, we went to Toledo’s cathedral. This particular church had a type of sculpture that wasn’t present in any other, depicting different biblical images. The sculpture went up to and through the ceiling near a skylight.

Part of Toledo’s Cathedral sculpture

Our trip to Toledo concluded with the walk back to the bus…in doing so we took some escalators down the side of a mountain?? They were outside and acted as a shortcut and a much better alternative to stairs considering its height.

An overlook of Toledo as seen from the escalators

Outdoor escalating

With a great weekend coming to a close, we began the trek back to Ronda and officially met the halfway point in the program. How could it be that only two more weeks of school remained? Where in the world does the time go?

Location: Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial

A New Hometown

One Chinese Yuan

We have just landed in my professor’s hometown area.

But first, let me explain why I haven’t blogged the entire time I have been in China. The College of Engineering was hacked and I lost access to my account. I finally found a phone number to call about resetting my password a few days ago, but I was on a boat and the WiFi was almost non-existent. It did not work for more than 3 minutes at a time, so I was finally able to get access to my account back. I am going to blog from my current location and then post the blogs I have written from earlier in the trip once I get back to America.

I have been to Beijing, Dalian, Xian, Lintong, Yichang, Fengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Tuangxi, and now Huangshan. We will be heading to Shanghai in a few days for our last stop of the program.

On Tuesday morning we woke up at 5:30 a.m. to catch our flight to Hangzhou. We boarded the plane on time, but we had to sit on the tarmac for an hour waiting for the plane to leave. We ended up getting to Hangzhou late, because besides our plan being delayed, some luggage and passports were left behind. By the time we got everyone to the bus we were 2 hours late. We still got to visit the West Lake, but it was a brief stay. We took a boat out on the lake and rode around the lake for 30 minutes. Since we knew we wouldn’t be staying long we didn’t get a tour guide, but I was in luck! There was a group on the boat with us that had a tour guide. He was speaking Chinese, but I could understand it enough to get the jist of what he was saying. He explained that there were temples for prayer alongside the lake and that the pedestrian bridge is always very crowded throughout the day. The West Lake is also featured on the back of 1 yuan bills. There are many pagodas and legend has it that the White Snake came out of the pagoda featured in the picture when it collapsed in the 70’s. There are a lot of legends in China, so I am not sure whether or not I want to believe this one, but it is still a good story. There were two snakes who learned magic that was so powerful they were able to transform themselves into women. The woman then found a husband, but was locked up so her magic would not harm anyone. She was then trapped in the pagoda. The pagoda is standing in the picture because it was rebuilt in 2000.

West Lake in Hangzhou

After viewing the West Lake we got on the bus to drive to Huangshan. It took over 3 hours to get to Huangshan, but when we arrived we had a huge dinner. Xinli grew up nearby so his family was able to join us for dinner.

The next morning we went to the mystery caves. They call them the mystery caves because they don’t know why or how they were built. They were built nearly 2,000 years ago and are an incredible feat of engineering for modern times, especially ancient times. There are 2 caves and they are both man-made. They were carved out by hand and the ceiling of the first cave we visited has the same slope as the mountain above it. The cave also runs under a river. There are some parts of the cave that have water dripping from the ceiling. That definitely freaked me out a little bit, but I knew we would be out of there soon enough. When we got out of the first cave we went to a second cave. This cave seemed more protected. You had to walk up 100 steps just to get to it, and once inside, there were so many steps to get down. As we descended into the cave everyone was relieved because the humidity outside was causing us to sweat the instant we stepped outside. The cool temperatures inside the cave came as a relief. They think the second cave may have been used as some sort of tomb.

First Huashan Mystery Cave

We left the cave and crossed a long bridge. Since there are so many of us, it was rocking side to side.

The three story bridge to reach the caves.

When we crossed the bridge we went to a small bow and arrow shooting range. I shot some arrows and I almost hit the middle bull’s-eye. It was a lot of fun and was something I hadn’t done since high school so I had a good time. In the middle of shooting, a few cows ran through the range. I was caught off guard when this happened and wondered why cows were just running around freely, but I remembered that in China, almost anything is possible.

Me and some others shooting arrows

After visiting the caves we went to visit the Old Street. The Old Street is over 1,000 years old. There are a lot of restaurants and shops on the street. I was able to buy a lot of cool gifts here and have a really good meal. After visiting The Old Street we went to the hotel and got ready for dinner.

At dinner I had a very interesting food: snake. It was really weird to know I was eating snake, but I told myself I would try new things while I was here. It was flaky like fish, but it tasted like chicken and it really wasn’t bad. It was just hard to get meat off of the bones. There are a lot more bones in snake than you would think… We were also served a whole chicken, head, feet, and all.

Chicken, head and all.

The next morning we got up a little later than usual. We were allowed to sleep in! We went to The Old Street to grab lunch and then we went to the village that Xinli grew up in to see the house he grew up in. We walked around the village and got to see a cave and some of the people who live in the village. We saw a lot of people farming and we ran in to Xinli’s old elementary school teacher. The farmers and teachers and shopkeepers all live within the village so it is a real sense of community. We were walking along a path and Xinli found some berries he used to eat as a child so I tried some. They were really good and looked like raspberries but they had little spikes attached to them. I got one stuck in my tongue and struggled for a few minutes to remove it, but eating the berries was still worth it.

Farming in the village our professor grew up in.

We stopped at the elementary school last. I talked to a lot of the kids there and we looked in their classrooms. They were not very high tech but looked like a typical school. They had desks and a chalkboard. There were a few kids running around and they posed for pictures for us. I unfortunately wasn’t able to take a good picture because I was further away, but trust me, they were really cute.

After walking around the village, we sat down for dinner. We were sitting in Xinli’s house which wasn’t made for 40 people at one time. There wasn’t a lot of space so we were crowded around a few tables and were sweating a lot, but we still were able to eat and that’s all that matters. They brought out a lot of food, just like always, and it was great. It seemed to come in unlimited quantities. My favorite dishes were green beans with peppers and the shrimp. The food was so fresh it was amazing. SO DELICIOUS!

After dinner, I walked around and talked to some of the neighbors in Chinese. I just asked them what they did, told them where I was from and told a few jokes. We then went to watch fireworks. A lot of the kids in the village found out there were going to be fireworks so they ran to watch them. We set off fireworks for about 10 minutes. After the fireworks finished I talked to a lot of the kids in the village. There was one girl who is 10 years old that had amazing English. I was really impressed because she probably isn’t even able to practice her English that much unless she goes to the city which is about 40 minutes away. She had much better English than my Chinese, but we talked in both languages and were able to communicate. She taught me a few of the games she played with her friends. It was really amazing visiting the village and seeing how much life can vary just 30 miles away from the city in China.

Today we went to the Old Street again for lunch. When we eat lunch we usually sit in big groups of about 8 or 12 people, but today I was just sitting at a table with 4 people and I had to order for everyone. There is usually a native speaker at each table, making it much easier to order food. We all split up for lunch so I found a menu and wrote down what we wanted in Chinese for the owner of the restaurant. It all worked out in the end and we had a very delicious meal and got everything that we wanted, so I guess I didn’t do too badly.

After eating lunch, we went to Xinli’s brother’s house. The house was really cool and even had some architectural features that were the same as his mother’s house even though they differed in construction by 50 years. Living in the house were his brother and his brother’s wife. Their son lived there with his wife and daughter. His wife’s mother also lived in the house. When you walked into the house there was a huge living room. You walked up half a flight of stairs to get to the kitchen and dining room area. There were then 3 more floors. One set of stairs led the way up to these living spaces. There was an open area when first arriving at each floor and then there were 2 bedrooms and a bathroom on each level. It was really cool to see how functional a house could be. The whole extended family is able to live in one space and still have their own separate spaces when they want to.

Tonight we will be celebrating Alejandro’s birthday. Tomorrow we will be attending a wedding and then leaving for Shanghai.

Cheers to my first blog post from China!

再见

Location: Huangshan, China

G’wan Donegal!

To preface this post, I’d like to first explain the title of my post. In Ireland, especially at sporting matches, it is common to hear the crowds yell “G’wan!” (AKA, “Go on!”) followed by the team or county they’re supporting. I heard a lot of this when my friend Mary and I went to a Connacht Rugby match on March 1st – we joined in the crowds yelling “G’wan Connacht!” as if we’d lived in Galway all our lives. Even after the match, the phrase stuck with us, so if we were happy about something, we’d yell “G’wan Connacht!” Alternatively, we started using the phrase as an affirmative or an expression of praise, as well. For instance, one of our conversations might ensue as follows:

Mary: Do I get a medium order of fish and chips or a large order?

Maddison: Go with a large. You’re in Ireland, so why not?

Mary: You’re right, I’ll order a large.

Maddison: G’wan Connacht!

(I’m fairly certain this exact conversation has taken place between us multiple times.)

G’wan Connacht!

So, to continue with my post… as you can tell from the title, we have changed our “G’wan Connacht!” phrase (which we still use sometimes) to “G’wan Donegal!” Why? Well, this may be a bit of a long story, so prepare yourselves.

There are several different accents within Ireland, as many of us study abroad students have realized. The subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences appear as you meet new people from all over the country. Many people we’ve met at school and in town hail from County Donegal, on the north west border of Ireland. Donegal borders Northern Ireland but is still part of the Republic of Ireland, making it a unique county. It is the second largest county within the Republic and also boasts one of the most interesting accents. It wasn’t difficult for any of us to fall in love with the unique sound of the accent – speaking with an individual from Donegal could turn the most loquacious conversationalist into the best listener.

Because of our interactions with individuals from Donegal, my friends and I had a little running joke about Donegal because we liked the accent so much. When I visited a sporting goods store to buy a Galway GAA jersey, I had to try on the Donegal one just for fun!

It suits me better than it should, right?

Well, all of this fascination boils down to one obvious conclusion: we needed to go to Donegal. My friends Mary, Nicky, Amara, and I took an early morning bus from Galway to Sligo, and then spent a bit of time exploring Sligo before we caught the bus from Sligo up to Donegal. The views on the trip were incredible – the mountains in Sligo are unlike any I’ve ever seen before.

Gorgeous, huh?

Once we arrived in Donegal Town, I fell completely in love with the place. The quaint town centre, called “The Diamond” is filled with shops, tea houses, pubs, restaurants, and chippers. As soon as we got off the bus and oriented ourselves, we decided to stop in a tea house, called Blueberry Tea Room. We filled our stomachs with the most amazing lunch dishes and plenty of tea before heading out into town to do some exploring.

Within the town centre itself, we visited Donegal Castle, which was an amazing experience due to our ability to explore, learn, and interact with the castle and grounds.

Donegal Castle!

The beauty of the exterior was only heightened when, at night, the Castle was lit up by a green spotlight against the darkening sky. But some of my favorite parts of the castle were inside – the intricate fireplaces, the gorgeous wooden dining tables, and the stone stairs, rooms, and passageways were mysterious and fascinating. The O’Donnell’s, who owned Donegal Castle, sure were lucky to be surrounded by such beauty! I had a lot of fun exploring – there seemed to be surprises everywhere we turned!

Me with deer antlers just behind my head

Oh deer!

We also stopped in Saint Patrick’s Church, where we all admired the beauty of the building and said a prayer. After that, we stopped in a small sweater shop, where we befriended the elderly man who owned it. Mary bought a beautiful light blue sweater, Amara bought a gorgeous teal sweater, and Nicky bought a lovely green infinity scarf. Since I already bought a sweater at the Blarney Woolen Mills, I didn’t allow myself to splurge, but I’m glad my friends all found things they liked! Little did we know that their decision to buy warm clothing would definitely pay off the next day.

Saint Patrick’s Church

We partook in the pubs, the chippers, and even did a bit of shopping in the town before heading back to our lovely B&B, called Ardlenagh View, which was only a five minute drive from town. Our hosts, the Mulherns, were so welcoming and kind – traits we noticed in many people we met in Donegal. Their B&B was absolutely stunning, as it was surrounded by beautiful mountains, valleys, and the breathtaking Donegal shoreline.

After a good night’s rest, the four of us awoke to a scrumptious Irish breakfast with plenty of tea to keep us awake for the day. As we packed up our things and got ready to check out, we noticed the sheep that filled the field just beyond the balcony of the B&B. I jumped at my chance to ask if we could go see the sheep – a prospect which our hosts, Tony and Eileen, found immensely entertaining. They gladly granted us permission to see them, and soon enough, both Eileen and Tony were watching us out the window, happy to see how much fun we were having. I even got the chance to make one of my dreams come true, as I called some sheep. If anyone is in need of a shepherd, you know where to find me.

After we said goodbye to our sheep friends and our wonderful hosts, we headed back into town on a pleasant Mother’s Day. In America, Mother’s Day falls in May, but in Ireland, it is celebrated in March. Luckily for us, the Donegal Bay Waterbus was sailing on Mother’s Day, and we were just in time for the 11:00 AM sailing. Because it was a chilly day, the four of us were the only ones on the top deck of the boat in the open air – everyone else opted to stay warm in the inside of the boat. Needless to say, as soon as we established ourselves at the top of the boat, we threw extra layers on and bundled for the remainder of our sail. Nicky and I even indulged in a pint of Guinness to warm up a bit while we all took pictures of the ridiculously incredible views. Donegal is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in all my life – the beaches, the mountains, the water, the ruins and castles, the people, the culture – it all paints a picture of what life should be like and how it should be lived.

Sail away, sail away, sail away…

As we were sailing, I noticed shapes bobbing up and down in the water – upon closer look, I realized some seals had come to say hello! I yelled to the other girls to look at the seals, and to my surprise, Mary wowed us all with her seal call. The rest of us just stuck to waving to our new friends! We saw more seals on the beaches we passed – they seemed curious, so we waved to them as well!

Our seal friends!

We enjoyed sailing and singing some Irish songs that were played through speakers to the four of us chilly passengers up top! We even did some dancing on the boat, which I’m sure the captain found amusing. It was a great boat ride and we all really enjoyed ourselves!

Dun na nGall! (AKA, Donegal)

Afterwards, we visited the ruins of the Donegal Friary, where we admired the old architecture and walked around the cemetery. To my surprise, I found headstones marked with the surnames Martin and Gallagher, which are two of my family surnames! I was overwhelmed with excitement – I knew from what my great aunt told me that the Martins and Gallaghers from our family were from Donegal, and it looks like she was right! I couldn’t wait to email Aunt Esther to let her know about my discovery. Up until that moment, I had felt a particular draw to Donegal, but seeing the prevalence of my family surnames in the cemetery there made me feel an even deeper connection.

Sitting among the beautiful ruins.

After our visit to the friary, we were ready to refresh with some lunch and tea. We stopped in a quaint cafe, chatted with some locals, and then took a taxi to the nearest beach, called Murvagh Beach. It was a cold day, but the sights were still incredible. Walking along the shore brought me such peace. Hearing the seashells crash against each other as the waves carried them in and out was captivating. I couldn’t have been happier with our decision to explore such a pretty place.

The heavens opened up and shone down on Donegal.

As we all walked along at our own pace, we lost track of time – it wasn’t too long before we were all separated and enjoying our solitude. Breaking away from the business of daily life to experience natural beauty is one of the most therapeutic experiences… which isn’t a difficult thing to do in Ireland. I walked along the shore and collected interesting seashells, but eventually I met up with Mary and Nicky who had climbed to the top of a cliff which marked the end of the sandy beach and the beginning of the rolling hills just beyond it. Needless to say, I climbed right up there to meet them!

The view from the top!

Nicky went to find Amara, so Mary and I sat on the cliff and had some deep life discussions. It felt as if we were on top of the world – in every direction, we saw beauty, and we did our best not to take a second of it for granted. Naturally, we took pictures of us sitting on the edge of the cliff with beautiful Donegal in the background.

Me sitting on the cliff edge with the beach in the background

Taking it all in.

We didn’t want to leave Murvagh Beach by any means, but we knew we had to get back into town and eat dinner before catching our bus back to Galway. Before we left the beach, however, all four of us stood on the cliff and took a few group photos to remember our amazing trip to one of our favorite Irish counties!

Me and my friends posing with Donegal in the background

Never forget Donegal!

G’WAN DONEGAL!

Location: Donegal Town, County Donegal, Ireland

Exploring Castles in Carlow and Kilkenny

The latter part of my weekend at my friend Sally’s house in Wicklow consisted of trips to County Carlow and County Kilkenny, where much of our time was consumed by exploring castles. The really great part about Ireland is that it doesn’t take too long to venture anywhere… it took ten minutes to drive from Sally’s house in Baltinglass, Wickow to Duckett’s Grove in Carlow.

After our adventurous day in Glendalough and Avoca on Saturday, we spent Sunday driving to a place called Duckett’s Grove in Carlow. Sally and her friends had told us stories the night before about how the grove was supposedly haunted, and it was easy to see why when we arrived.

A castle in the distance, clouded by fog.

My first sight of Duckett’s Grove was definitely creepy but beautiful!

Aside from the uncommonly thick fog, exploring the castle ruins of Duckett’s Grove was incredible. Much of our walk around was creepy, but I loved it. Sally told us that the grove was a common spot for people to spend time, especially in the summer. She and her friends would meet up there to play sports, play board games and cards, pack picnic lunches, and generally just spend time together. I can’t think of a more beautiful and interesting place to casually meet up with friends or family!

A part of the castle with towers framed by fog

A tower with arrowloops – the sky really was that color!

The castle looked fairly abandoned on the inside, but that was only because the interior had to be preserved and protected from people entering it, especially late at night or early in the morning. Sally said it was common for people to explore the castle when it was dark in order to find ghosts or get a good scare. It sounded like a fun time to me!

Three of my friends and I standing outside a gate of the castle.

Nicky, Kelly, Mary, and I hoping to meet a ghost!

After we finished our escapade at Duckett’s Grove, Sally drove us to Kilkenny for an afternoon at Kilkenny Castle. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos inside of the castle, but I did get a few of the gorgeous exterior.

Kilkenny Castle through the trees.

The interior was just as beautiful. We visited a large portrait gallery in a hall that reminded me of Pemberly (Mr. Darcy’s home) from Pride & Prejudice. There was also a tapestry room which captured all of our imaginations… we admired the incredible craft work that went into creating a masterpiece like a wall-length tapestry. The dining room was so intricate that I thought it would be a perfect film location for Downton Abbey – every single table setting was perfectly in place. One of my favorite places was the library, though. There were huge cupboards filled with old books, various writing desks near gargantuan windows, and cozy seating areas beneath paintings and portraits. The Butler family, who lived in Kilkenny Castle, certainly didn’t want for comfort!

Outside, the grounds were filled with statues, a fountain, stone steps, and walkways. Kelly and I even made a friend who decided to pose for a photo with us.

Kelly and I standing on either side of a statue.

He insisted on the pose… don’t blame us!

Also, as a side note, if any of you are fans of Hozier (born in Wicklow – one of Ireland’s own!) he recorded a live version of his song “In A Week” at Kilkenny Castle. Here is a link to the video if you’re interested in watching it. I highly recommend it… Hozier is one of my favorite musicians.

When we returned to Sally’s house, we were exhausted but immensely satisfied. We had explored so much in only three days – my weekend visiting Wicklow, Carlow, and Kilkenny will be a time of my life I will never forget!

Until next time,

Maddison

Location: County Kilkenny, Ireland

Hello Wicklow!

Last weekend I had the amazing experience of spending the weekend in Wicklow with my friend Sally and her family at their home in Baltinglass. Three of my other American friends came, too, which made the weekend one of discovery and adventure for all of us. Looking back, I can definitely say that last weekend was one of the best I’ve had in Ireland by far!

On Friday we boarded the train in Galway and traveled across the country to Kildare, where Sally’s mom picked us up and drove us to Baltinglass. Once there, we were introduced to Sally’s family and were allowed to spend some time relaxing before heading down to the shop, which was only a two minute walk from Sally’s front door. At the shop we picked up ingredients to make brown bread, which is a staple in Ireland and is served as a side to many dishes. It’s also a bread I have fallen completely in love with and plan to make at home. Thankfully, Sally’s mom gave us her recipe.

Brown bread baking in the oven!

Sally then set us all to work – we teamed up and began making a loaf of brown bread each. Team Mary and Kelly competed against Team Maddison and Nicky… and things got pretty competitive. In the end, though, Sally and her mom said that it was a tie because both loaves of brown bread turned out well.

Two fully baked loaves of brown bread sitting out on the kitchen counter.

Two perfect loaves of brown bread!

The next day we woke up early, got ready, and headed out to Glendalough, which is a national park in Wicklow with medieval monastic origins. Sally drove and I read the map to ensure we knew how to get to and from where we were going. A lot of the roads we drove on were narrow country or mountain roads with a lot of hills, so even the ride to Glendalough was really fun. Before we arrived in Glendalough, Sally stopped to let us have a look at the incredible beauty of the Wicklow mountains.

A lovely view on a foggy day.

Once we arrived at Glendalough, we walked around the grounds, taking in all of the natural wonder and history of the site. A large, old cemetery takes up a large portion of the land; it is eerily beautiful. Some of my favorite parts were visiting the immensely large round tower and attempting to get my arms around Saint Kevin’s cross, which is a large stone Celtic cross that visitors hug in an attempt to get their fingers to meet around it.

Me with my arms wrapped around a large stone cross.

I didn’t quite get my fingers to touch, unfortunately!

Me with my arms around a smaller stone cross.

Luckily I found one that was more suited to my size.

We also visited the lakes around Glendalough and were overwhelmed by how picturesque the views were. It was easy to see why scenes from the movie “Leap Year” were filmed at the upper lake in Glendalough – cameras simply can’t capture how breathtaking it is to stand at the bottom and look out at the lake and up at the mountains.

A lake with mountains and blue skies in the background.

The Upper Lake at Glendalough.

After we spent hours walking around Glendalough, we all boarded our lovely coach and drove to Avoca, which is another town in Wicklow. Avoca is better known to some as Ballykissangel, which was a television series filmed in Avoca in the 90’s. The town was called the fictional name Ballykissangel in the show, but Avoca, looking vastly unchanged, still represents its claim to fame today.

A sign reading "Ballykissangel" on a panel at the front of the pub.

Ballykissangel sign at the front of Fitzgerald’s Pub.

My parents and I watched Ballykissangel back home and really enjoyed it, so naturally I was very excited to be visiting Avoca. It was strange to arrive in a town and know exactly where everything was and how to get around, even though I’ve never been there before. We walked up and down the main street, admiring the quaint atmosphere and then eventually stopping into the most recognizable film location, Fitzgerald’s Pub.

Me standing outside of Fitzgerald's Pub.

I was so glad to be at Fitzgerald’s!

Once inside, my friends and I enjoyed chocolate cake and Guinness (the epitome of health!) while watching Ballykissangel on a television that the pub plays on a loop. There were also several decorations around the pub that denoted its involvement in the show. I was a little bit disappointed because the main bar area is where most of the show was filmed, but I couldn’t sit in that area because there was a rugby match on and the bar was full of people who were invested in nothing but ensuring a good view of the television. But even so, it was really cool to see how all the locals gathered in the pub to watch a match, just like many of the characters did in Ballykissangel.

Me standing with a Guinness in the front bar of the pub.

Standing proudly in the front bar area where much of Ballykissangel was filmed.

We left Avoca and headed back to Sally’s, where we got fish and chips from the “chipper” just down the road from her house. We were all really hungry, so we were glad to see that the portions were generous. They were, by far, the best fish and chips I’ve had in Ireland so far… I might have to stop back sometime or ask Sally to bring some to Galway!

Thanks for reading about my adventures in Wicklow!

-Maddison

Location: County Wicklow, Ireland

Loquacious, Literary, and Loving Every Second

Now that I’m back in Galway, I have been drinking up the abundance of literary culture faster than the pints I’ve been partaking in. I really lucked out in choosing to study in a place where music, art, history, and literature dominate the city; around every turn, there is something new and wonderful to stumble upon.

But to get to those places, sometimes it helps to ask questions along the way. Before I arrived in Galway I was determined to find the residence of Nora Barnacle, who was James Joyce’s wife. She was born and raised in Galway before she met Joyce, and now her old home has been turned into a museum (even though the house is tiny!). When my friend Mary and I ventured into town, we stopped by the Galway tours office and I asked the man working how to get to Nora Barnacle’s house. Jokingly, he said “She’s dead, she doesn’t live there anymore.” After a bit of laughter, he did give us directions, and after two failed attempts, Mary and I finally made it to the small house nestled inside a side alleyway. We happened to arrive at it at the same time as an Australian couple, so we all helped each other out by taking one another’s photos.

Mary and I standing in front of Nora Barnacle's House.

Mary and I outside Nora Barnacle’s house

It’s still difficult for me to fathom that I’m so close to the history of my favorite authors. Every time I go into the center of town, I pass a statue of Oscar Wilde, who is one of my all-time favorites. I’m loving being surrounded by a prominent literary culture here – it’s such a change from what life is like back in State College.

Oscar Wilde statue in Galway City

A few days after our Nora Barnacle adventure, my friends and I chatted with a local shop owner and got directions to Charlie Byrne’s Book Shop, which stole my heart as soon as I entered. I could have spent hours looking around, but we had to get to class so we only had about an hour to browse. It was time well spent, though!

Me reading a book in Charlie Byrne's book shop

Me enjoying a book in Charlie Byrne’s

There are so many book shops in Galway – I seem to notice a new one each time I walk down Shop Street. It’s definitely a dream come true for me… all of it is. There is something inherently magical about Galway, as cheesy as that sounds. The constant music that’s played in the streets, in the pubs… everywhere, really… seems like a soundtrack to life. I don’t think I’ve gone a day without singing here – it’s impossible not to. And yes, my friends and housemates do call me out on how I’m always singing. Galway makes it so easy to live my passions, though.

And Galway always seems to point me in the right direction, too!

Me pointing at a sign for Diagon Alley in the book shop

Diagon Alley and Galway feel like the same place to me!

Looking forward to sharing more of my adventures with you!

-Maddison

Location: Galway City, Galway, Ireland

Heading to Mayo

This past weekend I participated in a home stay, which means I went to stay with an Irish family and explore their hometown for a few days. I spent my time in Ballintubber, County Mayo, which is just a ten minute drive from Castlebar, the biggest city in the whole county. My friend Kaity and I spent the weekend with the Murphy family. On Saturday we explored Castlebar with our friends Mary and Bridget, and then on Sunday we visited Ballintubber Abbey, which was conveniently located just across the road from the Murphy’s house.

Visiting the abbey was my favorite part of the whole weekend, though admittedly the drive to Castlebar from Galway was scenic and beautiful. Driving through Ireland is something I could always do – it gives me time to take in the beauty of the country and really think without interruption. Watching the sun descend on the fields and houses was one of the most beautiful views I’ve seen so far. Writers, beware… Ireland will inspire all sorts of literary and romanticized thoughts. No wonder this amazing country has produced so many successful authors.

Before we explored Ballintubber Abbey on Sunday, Kaity and I went on a walk to explore local Ballintubber. We walked down past the school and around the training pitch, admiring the quaint houses and small town atmosphere. On the way we made friends with some ponies who live right near the pitch.

Ponies in a field, Ballintubber, Co. Mayo

Ponies in a field, Ballintuber, Co. Mayo

When we returned to the Murphy’s home, Mrs. Murphy and her daughter, Katelyn, took us to Ballintubber Abbey, which has been offering Mass without break for 800 years. It was founded in 1216 by Cathal Crovderg O’Connor, the king of Connaught (one of the four provinces of Ireland). The beauty of the abbey took my breath away… the old grave markers, the hazy grey day, the sheep in a field near the abbey, and the looming presence of the ruins made for a memorable experience. We walked around the grounds and admired the amazing history that surrounded us, both inside the abbey and out.

Celtic cross cemetery marker in front of Ballintubber Abbey

I enjoyed exploring Mayo, but I was eager to get back home to Galway during my stay in Castlebar. It’s amazing that I’ve only lived in Galway for three weeks and yet I miss it when I’m away. Every time I go into Galway’s city centre, I fall in love over and over again. I’ve been feeling really attached to the city lately, and I know at this point that saying goodbye will be very difficult. But until then, I have a lot more adventuring to do, so I’ll save sad thoughts of departure for another day!

Until my next post,

Maddison

Location: Ballintubber, Co. Mayo, Ireland

Mexican After-School Adventures

We obviously have been traveling a lot as a group on weekends, but we’ve also been doing a series of mini-trips to places nearby after classes end!

We went to Cacaxtla, which is an awesome archaeological site. The main area we visited used to be a palace! We also met a nice herd of cows on our way out…

That same day, we visited Tlaxcala (wow– some of the names of places here can be exhausting to learn/ pronounce), which was a cute little town nearby. We got to go to the Municipal Building there, which is practically covered in a beautiful mural depicting the history of the town and, essentially, Mexico. The Tlaxcalans were a tribe that allied itself with Cortes and the conquistadors during the 1500s and Spanish invasion.

We also went to Cholula (a place my family had already taken me) to see the Cholulan pyramid and church built on top. I didn’t mind hiking around a second time; the view was just as beautiful this time around. Plus, we also got to visit a small museum nearby.

Another day, we went to visit el Museo Amparo right here in downtown Puebla. Unfortunately, it cost quite a few pesos to be allowed to take pictures, so I have no proof, but the Mayan Exhibit in particular was incredible! The amount of detail that went into carvings is so impressive to see. The pieces were just beautiful. Overall, I’ve loved seeing the sites and works of the different civilizations. To think about the huge spans of time that they held power here, and all the amazing things they managed to accomplish with such limited technologies, just astounds me.

Our final after-school trip was to a fabrica (“factory”) of Talavera, an intricately painted and glazed style of pottery. It’s origins are in Puebla, and the craftsmanship is all by hand!

Location: Cacaxtla, Mexico

If only I had internet access at home—- Day 7, 5/16: Priene, Miletus, Didymus, and Labranda

Hello Followers of the GeoBlog,

I have been unable to load up the blog from my May trip to Turkey, so while everything is dated for today, it is all from roughly a month ago.

Thanks for reading!!!!

The site of Prianea is an entirely Hellenistic city located on the Emicale hill. It had a view of the Latmos Bay in ancient times with 2 harbors, outer and inner.The Boliterian is an entirely governmental theatre, and this one was rectangular with 4 entrances and a U-shaped pit, with a roof and columns covering the 600 people inside. Pine and Olive covered the colonnaded walkway, with the agora on both sides as it went up to the temple of Athena. The temple had 17 columns with Ionic capitals that Alexander the Great helped to rebuild after an earthquake. There were copies of the Altar of Zeus and the Statue of Athena here, as well as a temple to Demeter, where a pit for animal blood was. A synagogue and church stood next to the theatre, which is one of the best examples of Greek architecture in Asia Minor. There were 5 individual seats for religious members and a 5,000 person capacity. The Lade Battle was lost to the Persians here.

Miletus was a commercial and colonization center with a peninsula in the Latmos Bay and 2 harbors for trade and the navy. It had an agora, a harbor monument a caravan saray, and Turkish Baths, as well as a theatre. The theatre had 2 levels of seats and a vomitorium passageway. 4 columns represent the 4 most important people to the city. A wall of the Ottoman castle above is made from bits of the Theatre.

Didyhtaion (Didymus) had a Temple to Apollo where a spring was the center of the temple. It had 3 columns standing, only 1 original, and it was never completed. The Spring is supposed to be where Apollo met one of his various lovers, so the Temple was built around it. When it was not under the control of people who respected it, the spring did not appear. We saw a lot of animals here (turtle, cats, dogs), which seems to be a common theme in Turkey. 🙂 The Medusa heads on temples were to keep away evil spirits, and the ones here were pretty well preserved when compared to other statues and parts of temples we’ve seen.

Labranda was used by the Carions and controlled by a local Persian governor. It had 3 feasting halls (Androns),a treasury, and a temple to Zeus, who split the rock above it. It was excavated by the Swedes up to today. The Rock that was split there is said to have been split by lightning — hence it is an area sacred to Zeus. Feasting halls are rare in Greek architecture, so that is why the 3 here are so important to archaeology.

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From what I (vaguely) remember of this day, it was one of our most tiring. It was so much fun though because of everything we learned in this one day.

Location: Bodrum, Turkey

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